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Faculty, The
| running time = 104 min. | country = USA | language = English | budget = $15,000,000 | gross revenue = $40,283,321 | preceded by = | followed by = }} The Faculty is an American science-fiction/horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by David Wechter, Bruce Kimmel and Kevin Williamson. It was released theatrically on Christmas Day in the United States. Thematically, the movie is a cross-polinization of the "Body Snatcher" motif made popular in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the teen slasher formula, which had dominated the genre throughout the mid to late 1990s. The premise of the film involves an alien parasite that infects the suburban town of Herrington, Ohio. The spores begin infecting the staff members of Herrington High School, dramatically altering their physiology and personality. As the contagion begins to spread into the student body, several teenagers learn of the silent alien invasion and band together to fight back. Senior outcast Zeke Tyler (played by Josh Hartnett) creates a designer drug that has the unexpected side effect of exorcising the alien spores from the host body. His friends and he determine that killing the queen alien may destroy the parasites without killing the host. Cast Principal cast Co-stars Box Office & Reception * The Faculty opened up on December 25th, 1998 in 2,365 theaters across the United States. It grossed $11,633,495 over opening weekend, averaging $4,919 per theater. It ranked #5 in top grossing films of the week, earning 28.9% of total weekend sales. In the UK, The Faculty grossed £894,161 over opening weekend on 355 screens on April 11th, 1999. The film earned $40,283,321 in domestic lifetime grosses overall. The Faculty at Box Office MojoIMDB; Box office/business * The Faculty received mixed and moderate reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes tallied thirty-seven reviews from noted critics, resulting in a 51% positive overall rating. Nineteen critics gave it a positive review, while eighteen critics gave it a negative review. Rotten Tomatoes; The Faculty Online film reviewer JoBlo gives the film a "popcorn rating" of 7 out of 10. * Harry Knowles of "Ain't It Cool News" (who has a cameo appearance in the film) said "When you have movies that are genuine fresh combinations of multiple film types... well, sometimes it just works out. This is one of em. And besides it's original elements, there are nods and pieces from 10 other films at least, and it's all done very cool. Ain't It Cool News Notes & Trivia * The tagline for this film is, "The students at Herrington high will not only question authority... they'll have to destroy it." * Principal shooting on The Faculty began on April 13th, 1998 and concluded on June 26th. * This is the second film appearance for actor Josh Hartnett. Earlier in 1998, he made his acting debut in the anniversary slasher sequel Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later playing the role of John Tate, son of heroine Laurie Strode and nephew of serial murderer Michael Myers. The John Tate name was recycled for The Factory as a character played by Daniel von Bargen. Halloween H20 was co-produced by Kevin Williamson who was also one of the screenwriters on The Faculty. Josh Hartnett also played an Alaskan sheriff named Eben Oleson in the 2007 vampire film 30 Days of Night. In both 30 Days of Night and The Faculty, Hartnett's character is involved with drugs. In The Faculty, he uses a designer narcotic to kill alien parasites that are infecting the school. In 30 Days of Night, he uses a Salbutamol inhaler to treat his asthma condition. * This is the first professional acting work for Eric Jungmann. He will go on to play the role of Jain McManus on all ten episodes of the ABC supernatural mystery series Night Stalker. Recommendations External Links * * * The Faculty at Wikipedia * * * References ----